ANTARCTIC PENINSULA on board m/v Ortelius January 13 – 23, 2018 M/V Ortelius was named after the Dutch cartographer Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598) who published the first modern world atlas, the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Theatre of the World) in 1570. MV Ortelius was built in 1989 in Gdynia, Poland, as a research vessel for the Russian Academy of Science and was named Marina Svetaeva. In 2011 she was purchased by Oceanwide Expeditions. The vessel was re-flagged and renamed Ortelius. Now the ship is sailing as a 125-passenger vessel. Ortelius is 91 m long, 17,6 m wide and has a maximum draft of 5,80 m, with an Ice Strength rating of UL1/1A, top speed of 12 knots and one diesel engine generating 3200 kW. Captain Mika Appel and his international crew of 49 including First Officer: Toni Salo [Finland] Second Officer: Franziska Braas [Germany] Third Officer: Warren Villanueva [Philippines] Chief Engineer: Aleksandr Bondarev [Lithuania] Hotel Manager: Dejan Nikolic [Serbia] Assist. Hotel Manager: Sava Savov [Bulgaria] Head Chef: Khabir Moraes [India] Sous Chef: Richard Arokiasamy [Malaysia] Ship’s Physician: Tom Matthews [The Netherlands] and Expedition Leader: Cheryl Randall [United Kingdom] Assist. Expedition Leader: Kurtis Randall [Canada] Expedition Guide: Martin Berg [Sweden] Expedition Guide: Ben Giunchi [Argentina] Expedition Guide: Louise Adie [United States] Expedition Guide: Sarah Jenner [United Kingdom] Expedition Guide: Michael Green [United Kingdom] Expedition Guide: Danial Rodery [France] welcome you on board! Day 1 – January 13, 2018 Embarkation, Ushuaia GPS position at 1600: 54°48.6‘S, 068°18.0‘W Air Temp: 13°C Sea Temp: 9°C Wind: N 4 Sea state: 2 So finally, the much-awaited departure day was upon us! We woke up in Ushuaia to blue skies and sunshine, full of excitement and anticipation at the thought of boarding the Ortelius Plancius for our forthcoming adventure - for many of us today signified the culmination of a lifelong dream! We spent the morning exploring this lovely Patagonian city, soaking up the local flavours and enjoying the sights. Ushuaia marks the end of the road in Argentine Tierra del Fuego, but also the beginning – the beginning of once-in-a- lifetime adventure. During the summer this rapidly growing frontier town of 55,000 bustles with adventurous travellers. The duty-free port flourishes with tourism but also thrives on a sizeable crab fishery and a burgeoning electronics industry. Ushuaia which stands for “bay that penetrates to the west” in the indigenous Yaghan tongue, clearly benefits from its magnificent, yet remote setting. It was a sunny but breezy afternoon as we made our way along the pier to the boat at 16:00, ready to board our new floating home for the next 11 days. We were greeted by members of our expedition staff who directed us to the reception where we were checked in by Hotel Manager DJ and his assistant Sava, and the friendly hotel team showed us our cabins. There we found our luggage and in no time at all we settled in and started to explore our new surroundings. At 17:00 we convened in the lecture room on deck three to meet expedition leader Cheryl, who welcomed us on board the ship. Third Officer, Warren then acquainted us with the safety features of the vessel and with the essential do’s and don’ts on board. Soon afterwards it was time for the mandatory safety drill and we gathered in the bar, donned our big orange lifejackets and went through the roll call to make sure everybody was there. We were then escorted outside to take a look at the lifeboats, but were left confident that we would have no reason to do this again in the next 11days! Many of us then headed out on deck with cameras in hand as we pulled away from the pier and started to navigate the Beagle Channel. At 18:30 we met in the lounge/Bar on Deck 6 in order to meet key crew/staff and learn about ship routine during our voyage. Hotel Manager DJ imparted useful information about mealtimes, Internet/Webmail access and treating the toilets nicely. He was followed by Expedition Leader Cheryl, who introduced Captain Mika – the person who would get us there and back again safely. He spoke a few words and explained that we were welcome on the bridge during daylight hours, which is a great viewing platform for bird-watching and also the place to find out from officers on watch what life is like at sea. We raised a glass of bubbly (or orange juice) to the success of our voyage and then Cheryl told us a little about the forthcoming voyage before handing a over to her team of guides and the Grande Espace team for a little self-introduction. Shortly afterwards we were invited to the dining room to enjoy the first of many delicious meals on board, prepared by head chef Khabir and his team. There was a real buzz in the dining room, as we got to know each other and talked about our hopes and aspirations for this voyage. Our first evening was occupied with more exploration of the ship, adjusting to her movements and settling into our cabins before retiring for the night. Day 2 – January 14, 2018 Drake Passage: At Sea towards Antarctica GPS position at 0800: 56°41.9’S, 066°26.8’W Air Temp: 8°C Sea Temp: 7°C Wind: NE 7 Sea state: 3-4 Overnight the Drake Passage put on its usual show. With lots of movement caused by a 3m swell. We were woken gently at 8.00am with a call over the tannoy. First job of the day was breakfast before starting our busy day of mandatory lectures. These started with the IAATO lecture where we found how to interact with the wildlife without causing the animals distress. The excitement built as we all realised what we are going to do and see. Then onto another great lunch at sea. Then we enjoyed cleaning our personal kit, the room was full of the sounds of vacuuming and laughter as we cleaned and check our kit to ensure we had no seeds on the Velcro and zips. Once we had cleaned we acknowledged doing so with a signature. This took up most of the afternoon but ensures Antarctica stays pristine. We must be far from land as the seabirds were very sparse. However, a few Albatross circled the ship flying without flapping their wings at all. These birds are very beautiful and ever so graceful. Recap came too soon, the topics covered were the Antarctic Convergence we learnt some great facts about the water around Antarctica Curtis gave a great lecture. We should cross the Convergence [Polar Front] this evening so we were told to expect fog. Martin gave a brief introduction on the seabirds we will hopefully see. He showed some great photos he had taken and told us some great facts about each type of bird. Then off to dinner for more of the great food onboard Ortellius. The day seems to have just flown by and we are all ready to begin our adventure proper very soon. Day 3 – January 15, 2018 Drake Passage: At Sea towards Antarctica GPS position at 0800: 61°22.5’S, 066°59.9’W Air Temp: 2°C Sea Temp: 5°C Wind: SSE 8 Sea state: 4 The night passed peacefully, with the winds dropping considerably, so most felt well rested when the wake-up call came at 07.30. Outside, there was a cool breeze, the clouds were hanging low and a thick fog was lingering, which was no surprise as overnight we had crossed the Antarctic Convergence and were now officially in Antarctica, based on the biological boundary. After breakfast, we headed up into the lounge where Sara presented an ‘Introduction to Polar Photography’ where she gave us some useful tips on how to improve our pictures. She explained how it is not just picture taking, but more about picture making, how we can arrange the horizon and where to put our main component of the picture. She also introduced us to some of the technical terms and settings, such as f-stop, shutter speed and ISO and which to use for what kind of picture. On Sara’s recommendation, many people headed out on to deck afterwards to play with their cameras and get acquainted with some of the techniques she spoke about. At 11:00, Michael gave a lecture on polar exploration, with an emphasises on the Mawson expedition. It was most interesting to hear about the heroic, but extremely treacherous lifestyles the early polar explores had to endure, making us realise how lucky we were to have the very comfortable Ortelius as our safe haven. Soon afterwards lunch was being served, but there was no time for mid afternoon nap as we had to reconvene in the lecture room for a mandatory zodiac safety briefing, where Kurtis explained how zodiac operations would work over the forthcoming days. Thereafter, it was the campers meeting with Ben where he explained how the activity would operate and answered any questions the group had. As expected there were a few surprised faces when he appeared with the bivy bags and the potty toilet! At 16:00, Martin invited us to his Penguin lecture in the bar which provided us with an overview of the breeding cycle, habitat and seasonal change effecting several species of penguins. It looked at the challenges and pressures involved in reuniting with a partner from previous years or finding a new one, setting up home with a good nest, finding food and avoiding predators. All of this has to be achieved in the short Austral summer and the penguins do it, not with ease, but with great determination and courage in a very difficult environment. His lecture only served to boost our excitement as to what we might see the next few days.All this was followed by another meeting! This time, the kayakers met with Louise for an introductive briefing into the activity including the distribution of the gear and setting up the kayaks. Day 4 – January 16, 2018 Cuverville Island and Port Lockroy GPS position at Cuverville: 64°41.00’S, 062°38.00’W Port Lockroy: 64 49 00 S, 063 029 00W Air Temp: 1°C Sea Temp: 2°C Wind: SW 8 Sea state: 3 We awoke early and had breakfast before getting ready for a full day of adventures. As we approached Cuverville the wind was gusting 40 kts and the sea was a mass of white horses. It didn’t look promising. However, the nearer we got to the island the better the conditions became. We left the ship and headed to the island. Port Lockroy (The Penguin Post Office). We had to split into two teams for this landing as only 60 people are allowed ashore at any one time. Both teams had a similar experience. Seeing lots of Gentoos raising their chicks. Some were even under the Post Office. It was a joy to watch them using their highways to move around. They give you such a nonchalant look as they pass you by. The Skuas were again flying around looking for any opportunity to grab a chick. Sheathbills also scooted around looking for feeding opportunities. We took the opportunity to send postcards home and bought many a souvenir. A surreal experience to be shopping in such a wilderness. Cruising around the ice filled harbour was a wonderful experience. It started with a leopard Seal on the ice. Then further in the harbour we saw a large whale skeleton on the beach. Leaving the harbour, we followed the shore and saw Chinstrap penguin on the rocks. Then a large leopard seal displayed under the boat. This apex predator was huge and showed all onboard its markings as it displayed in the water. The surrounding scenery was stunning the Seven Sisters shrouded in mist were unforgettable. Although we were cold we didn’t want to return to the ship. We went back onboard all hungry and ready for our evening meal after a stunning start to our Antarctic holiday.